When it comes to participating in the economy, everyone wants to have a fair chance to compete. People want to believe if you put in the work, do your best, you will be rewarded for your toils. Through this effort, the best in each field will rise to the top. This has not always been the case. ...

2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  -Galatians 6:2- The word “bear” is sometimes translated as “carry.” Carry each other’s burden…. The month of December and depression seem to go together. Ask any counselor or pastor, and they ...

Happy December! I hope everyone had a great November and Thanksgiving. A Letter of Engagement was signed with Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce for Economic Development purposes. Supervisor Doland and I met with John Hall, President and CEO of Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce multiple times ...

Around 3,000 individuals will be out of job and the processing of 5,000 head of cattle per day will disappear, which is about 4.8% of the daily U.S. beef slaughter after Tyson announced they were closing their beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, according to DTN Progressive Farmer. While Tyson ...

I was just reminded last week, there are only a little more than five weeks left until Christmas. "Wow", I thought, "That really sneaks up on you when you aren't expecting it!" It's such a reaction that's programmed into us by the advertising commercialism that starts earlier and earlier every ...

While Easter has ham, Fourth of July has hot dogs, nothing compares to Thanksgiving. With food galore and many options available, it is always a good holiday to eat several types of food. Thanksgiving has the staples like turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, but it is time to dive into the ...

Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Thanksgiving is a time for many to pause and ...

Local control is a standard plea politicians love to make. It makes sense. No one wants a far-off entity like the federal government making decisions impacting those locally when they do not know what is best for the locals. Keeping everything under local control is best for America and ...

The projected rapid increase in electrical energy needs, particularly for massive new data centers, could derail our efforts to combat climate change unless ways are found to greatly increase the production of clean energy. Nuclear energy could help fill that need with the development of small ...

October has come to an end and most of the crops in the area have been harvested. My family was able to finish harvest early with crops being dry and the weather cooperating, which left us time to visit a pumpkin farm, carve pumpkins, and get some outside work done. I hope everyone had a great ...